


The Bachelor

by NicaiseDeservedBetter



Category: Captive Prince - C. S. Pacat
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fake/Pretend Relationship, M/M, Modern Royalty, The Bachelor AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-06
Updated: 2019-01-08
Packaged: 2019-10-05 17:36:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 21,793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17329445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NicaiseDeservedBetter/pseuds/NicaiseDeservedBetter
Summary: Since his brother's death, Laurent has become a recluse and shunned public appearances. Auguste was the prince beloved by the nation, but now Laurent is the only prince Vere has and the country sees him as irresponsible, unsuitable, and unpleasant.Now, to prevent the council removing him from the royal line and all control of the country being transferred to his uncle, Laurent has to play along with his uncle's scheme and become The Bachelor to gain the public's affection and a husband he does not want.Laurent knows his uncle intends for his unpleasant personality to ensure the country hates him and he is certain the Regent has men planted in the contestants as backup plans should Laurent fail to destroy the country's hopes and dreams of a royal wedding.There's no contestant Laurent is less eager to see than Prince Damen of Akielos who had a private less than pleasant past with Auguste and surely was cast because of it. But if Laurent is going to make it through this, he is going to have to pretend to play nice instead of fracturing the already fragile peace between Vere and Akielos and he's going to have to make an alliance with Damen off camera for the best interest of both of their countries.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [thewriterofperfectdisasters](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thewriterofperfectdisasters/gifts).



> **A/N: This fic is a secret santa gift for thewriterofperfectdisasters!**
> 
> **I hope that you like it and I'm sorry it's so late! This is actually the third fic idea I started for this exchange so that's why I'm so late, but I should have the rest of the chapters up by the end of tomorrow if all goes according to plan!**

Laurent had a reputation as a cold and frigid prince. Although he and Auguste looked similar, their reputations could not be much more different. Auguste was warm, outgoing, and brave and everything you could want in a prince and Laurent was a cruel and cowardly sham who only earned any ounce of respect because of how persistently his brother openly adored him and invited him along on his public appearances. The only signs of humanity most saw in him was in far away clips of he and Auguste talking or laughing about something that microphones could not pick up.

After Auguste died in a car accident that Laurent only survived because of which side the car was hit on, Laurent was the only prince that Vere had left and it was palpable how much the whole country thought it should have been him. They had lost their real prince and been left with a fraud. Maybe, if Laurent had made public appearances and played up the mourning brother role in front of the cameras he could have earned their sympathy and respect like Laurent’s uncle had tried to force on him. Instead, Laurent skipped every public appearance his uncle arranged for him and refused to exploit Auguste’s death to earn false sympathy or adoration or respect.

He looked like a flake when the country was wondering most if he could ever be even a fraction of the prince that Auguste had been but Laurent didn’t care. The whole country could hate him and it wouldn’t matter. They and his uncle had been searching for any sign of weakness and keeping track of every reason that Laurent never could or would be a respectable prince. They’d been comparing him to Auguste and he’d been coming up dreadfully short in every category since they were children and he had never cared. It was not an insult to be worse than Auguste, it was just a fact and Laurent had adored his brother more vehemently than any of Vere’s other citizens could have. Auguste had always been a better prince and just better, but he had never been cruel about it. He had taught Laurent a lot and shared his talents and his secrets but now he was gone and none of it mattered. The country could love or hate Laurent and it wouldn’t matter.

He had left a bad taste in Vere’s resident’s mouths when Auguste was alive and he did not want their false affection now that he was dead. Even if he did earn it, they would still only be caring about him for what he was to Auguste. Laurent didn’t want phony sympathy and adoration. The only person in the world who had ever truly cared for him or loved him since his parents had died was Auguste and now he was gone and Laurent was alone, surrounded by people he mutually loathed and a shell of even the prince he was before. In a way, it was good that everyone thought he was a lousy prince still. He would hate for his brother to be seen as replaceable.

Laurent did not want to become prince and he absolutely did not want to be a part of this stupid television show. He was to be the next Bachelor and find himself a respectable husband. He was supposed to go on television and win the hearts of the country, but Laurent knew that his uncle had only put him up to it in order to make him look even worse and to pawn Laurent off on someone he had in his pocket so that he could keep control of Laurent when he came of age to become king at twenty-five.

Laurent did not want a husband. He did not want to win the hearts of the country. He did not want to marry one of his uncle’s phonies and he did not want to date anyone. But Laurent had shunned too many public appearances and had become too disreputable and now the council insisted that he had to win the public over or else he would be removed from the royal line to avoid a riot.

He thought they were being quite dramatic, even if the country’s opinion of him was overly negative, but his uncle had leapt right in with his marvellous suggestion of Laurent appearing on the television program that he had oh so conveniently already contacted.

“Everybody loves a royal wedding,” the Regent had insisted. “And everyone will tune in to watch the show. It will give them a chance to see you as something other than a flake.”

Laurent knew that he meant that it would give them a chance to hate him more personally.

He did not want to be king. That was always supposed to be Auguste’s job, but Auguste wasn’t here anymore. Laurent did not even want to be a prince, but he could not lose his status and allow his uncle to remain in power for a moment longer than was necessary. He had to be strategic to prevent himself from being shunned from the royal line and so he agreed to the suggestion, even though the idea of it made him feel physically ill.

“That sounds like a wonderful idea,” Laurent said in a clipped tone. It was a promise and a threat as he insisted, “Do not worry, Uncle. I will make them respect me.”

The Regent was right. Most of the country would tune in out of pure curiosity and hatred to confirm for themselves just how much he should never be king. They would be searching for every reason he was unsuitable. It would not be easy to make the public love him, or at least tolerate him, but it was necessary to foil his uncle’s plan and keep him from seizing complete control of the country.

* * *

Laurent had to stand outside of the castle and greet each contestant on the show as they stepped out of the limo. He felt like a piece of meat on display as he awaited the men who had been supposedly picked by television producers to allow a wide range of people from Vere and neighbouring Akielos the chance to marry a real prince, but Laurent was certain that his uncle had had a say and had stacked the deck in his favour. Any or every one of these men could be working for his uncle and, even if they weren’t, they were not here for Laurent. They were here for the power, wealth, luxury, and esteem that could come from marrying a prince.

The first contestant was a massive man who looked more like someone his uncle would employee as a bodyguard than like anyone Laurent would want near him. Perhaps, he could have been handsome if he did not look like someone had smashed his nose in.

“My name is Govart,” he said as he stuck out a meaty paw for Laurent to shake. “And I’m your future husband.”

Govart’s words came out as cocky and possessive more than charming. His hand was clammy and squeezed Laurent’s like he was trying to pop a knuckle out of place. His presence made Laurent queasy and he wished to yank his hand back out of the larger man’s grip, but it would not reflect well on him to show his lack of commitment to the show and his disgust at the first contestant so he gave the man a fake smile several watts brighter than the one he used to slap onto his face during public appearances at Auguste’s request.

“It is wonderful to meet you,” Laurent said. “I look forward to getting to know you. I hope we will have time to talk tonight.”

Laurent did not look forward to getting to know Govart. If he was lucky, he would manage to avoid talking to him by staying busy with the other suitors until it was time for him to leave to make his first decision on who he would send home.

His uncle almost certainly had sent Govart, but Laurent was not so stupid that he would believe Govart was the only one the Regent had manipulated into coming on the show. Govart was a big heaving red herring meant to reassure Laurent that he had eliminated his uncle’s choice and it would be safe to choose anyone else. Laurent was not going to trust any of the contestants.

One by one, Laurent stood there and plastered a phony smile so bright his cheeks ached as each contestant left the limo and came over to greet him. Most were Veretians, but not all. Laurent supposed that the country’s citizens would enjoy the idea of their prince marrying one of them.

Aimeric was another strong contender for being sent by his uncle. At the very least, he was unpleasant. He was a Veretian clearly looking to gain some sort of power or esteem for his presence on the show.

When he exited the limo, he strode up to Laurent with a subtle sway to his hips that contrasted with the boy-like look of innocence he was projecting. The movement of his hips could have been unintentional or meaningless, but something about it screamed calculated to Laurent.

When he reached Laurent, the man grabbed Laurent’s hand and kissed the back of it. He flashed a smile Laurent presumed was meant to dazzle him as he said, “My prince. It is a privilege to be in your presence.”

He was laying it on mighty thick. Incredible how Laurent was detested throughout the country, but as soon as there was the potential to get in his pants, his wallet, and his prestigious family suddenly suitors were coming out of the woodwork desperately admiring and wanting him.

Laurent really did wish the man would give him his hand back.

“My name is Aimeric,” the man practically purred. “And I cannot wait for the chance to court you.”

He kissed Laurent’s hand again before he finally let go. Laurent practically laughed in his face.

Laurent knew why Aimeric was here now. He had heard Ambassador Guion try to sell his son Aimeric to Auguste before back when Auguste had been alive and more desirable than Laurent and, most importantly, first in line for the throne.

Guion was a power-craving weasel who would do anything to get another cent in his pocket, including selling his son. Aimeric had been sent to seduce Laurent to gain higher political status for his father. It was clear from the way he behaved that this was not a new role for Aimeric and he seemed to embrace it fully.

Part of Laurent pitied him, but mostly he just wished for him to stay away from him. Laurent would rather have the man tell him the truth about why he was there than bat his eyelashes and pretend to be infatuated with him.

“I will see you inside later,” Laurent assured Aimeric with a smile so that the man would take the hint and go into the house where Laurent could get a break from him.

Jord was another familiar contestant, although Laurent at least did not have to question his intentions. Jord was a guard and had been mooning over Laurent since much before Auguste’s death. His attraction to Laurent was futile and far too obvious, but he was a friend and he was loyal to a fault. Keeping him around would be an advantage, even if it meant leading the man on. Laurent would just have to be sure to cut him loose before it got too close to the end. He did not want to go looking for a new guard, particularly when he was sure his uncle would be the one choosing for him.

Jord was ecstatic to see him as he went through the obligatory introduction. “My name is Jord, but you already know that. I’m glad we’re going to get the chance to get to know each other better outside of work.”

It was almost amusing that Jord thought Laurent’s appearance on this show was not work.

Jord was already smiling, but when Laurent cracked a smile in response to his words, the man utterly beamed.

Jord knew Laurent well enough to know that he did not smile like this and he had not smiled before tonight since he had lost his brother. Jord thought that this was a special smile for him, but Laurent knew it would not be long before he would recognize Laurent’s sudden affinity for smiling as a calculated move and not genuine delight at having to waste his time on a bunch of men he would never let touch him.

The contestants just kept coming and coming. Thankfully, it was a small season. There were only eight contestants in total. Laurent had been told it was because he had to win the public’s favour back quickly and they needed the royal wedding to take place soon. Laurent had not been aware he had ever had the public’s favour and he had not been delusional enough to believe it.

He knew this was rushed so that Laurent would soil his reputation utterly and be removed from the royal line so that his uncle could ascend from the role of regent to king years before Laurent was scheduled to ascend to the role himself. Or so that, at the very least, if his uncle’s plan backfired and Laurent ended up marrying one of these men, the Regent could have greater control over Laurent by using his husband and he would still have years left to develop a new plan to take Laurent out of the picture if he somehow managed to get the public to even like him.

Laurent had seen Orlant around, although he did not know much about the man. He had seen him spending time with Jord and he hoped that the fact that they were friends would mean that Orlant would not also be planted there. He was not foolish enough to believe that guaranteed it though.

Lazar was another who laid it on too thick and made Laurent question his motives from the beginning. It was difficult for Laurent to know who to send home first when there were so many strong contenders. Unfortunately, he was going to have to get to know most of them inside to decide which were the worst of the worst that he needed to send home immediately.

He probably couldn’t send Aimeric yet. He was too nice on the eyes and falsely charming for the Veretian public to agree with his decision. He would probably have to string him along for a while and then fashion a way to send Aimeric home that he could manipulate as if his actions were in order to spare Aimeric’s feelings when he just did not feel the attraction he was supposed to after weeks of trying.

Erasmus was pretty and so were his words, but everything about him turned Laurent off. It was like his every word and action was scripted by someone else and he spoke to Laurent’s shoes rather than meeting his gaze. Erasmus seemed a man that had been broken in by someone else long ago. He was trained to be docile and pleasant. Laurent pitied him, but he most certainly would never fall for him. He was not interested in a man too broken to have any awareness of what he wanted or to make his own decisions.

Makedon was an Akielon who was all posture. Even before he boasted over his control of the Akielon army, Laurent had been turned off. He was overly proud and bound to be overly strategic. Besides, Laurent was doing this show to keep the power away from his uncle. He was not about to hand it over to an Akielon.

The last contestant to step out of the limo was sickeningly familiar. He was the prince of Akielos, a neighbouring country. Presumably, he was here to try to secure some sort of political alliance or to become a show pig just as Laurent had become. Laurent was certain that his uncle was delighted that he was here and either had something to do with this or was glad that it created a good enough television storyline that he did not have to.

His uncle would expect Damen’s appearance to get under his skin. Damen’s appearance _did_ get under his skin, but he couldn’t show it and come off as the cold brat who was rude to the prince of another country on first appearance. He would surely be seen as an unsuitable prince if he was creating potential political rifts out of personal dislike for a man who was supposed to be a near stranger.

Damen was a stranger to Laurent for the most part, but he had not been a stranger to Auguste, at least for a brief amount of time. They had met at some dry political affair for appearances only. Damen had taken an interest in Auguste and had hung around after the affair was over until Auguste had taken a shining to him too. Damen had been in town for three nights. He’d bedded Auguste two of those and then disappeared from Auguste’s life back to Akielos without a second thought or so much as a phone call.

Most did not know that anything had occurred between the prince of Akielos and the former prince of Vere, but Auguste had confided in Laurent and Laurent had seen the way his brother had looked at Damen before Damen had left and made it clear that Auguste had been little more than another of his infamous romps. The Regent had eyes and ears all over the castle, so undoubtedly he had found out too and was waiting for Laurent to dig his own grave at the sight of the man who had dared to use and hurt his brother.

As Damen walked up the driveway, Laurent smiled cordially and disguised his distaste. He would not let Damen of Akielos destroy his chance at becoming king and he would not utter a word about what happened before. He would hate to sully Auguste’s spotless reputation by spilling to the whole country that he had hopped into bed with Damen of Akielos of all people the second night he had known him. Laurent had absolutely zero intention of marrying Damen and the sight of him made him feel vaguely nauseous, but the Regent wanted Laurent to send him home right away and show a complete lack of thought or care for political alliances and Vere’s rocky relationship with Akielos so Laurent decided then and there that was going to string Damen along until nearly the end to spite his uncle.

* * *

When Laurent went inside, there was a dreadful cocktail party meant for him to get to know the contestants.

Unfortunately, the smaller than average season meant that he had time to talk to each of the contestants individually throughout the night.

At least less contestants to get rid of meant less time he would be stuck with his cheeks aching from pretending any of these men were bearable but that also meant that he sooner would have to marry one of these men and even as a man who had no interest in looking, he found pickings rather slim.

Laurent did not enjoy feigning interest in their stories as he got to know the contestants. He wished that he could just tune them out but that would not do since he needed all the information he could get to try to choose someone who would not be utterly unbearable and who would not try to overshadow him and use his authority to seize control of his country.

Erasmus would be looking better and better if he weren’t Akielon. At least he was too timid to try to steal Laurent’s power and manipulate him, but Laurent knew how the country would react if he chose an Akielon instead of a Veretian. That would only be forgivable if he married for a political alliance and to seize some control of Akielos, not if he gave up power and status that could have gone to a Veretian to an Akielon commoner.

Govart had all the social skills of a baked potato and breathed unpleasantly on Laurent’s face. He seemed to think his ability to smash a man’s nose bone into his skull somehow made him desirable. Laurent wondered if someone had attempted the same on him and that was why his nose appeared so flattened.

Aimeric was a smooth talker. He boasted about his talents. He asked Laurent about his interests and leaned forward as if it was all utterly fascinating as Laurent gave him clipped impersonal responses that provided just enough information to give the public something to work with. Laurent could not help but notice the way Aimeric tiptoed around the subject of his family and spoke of his mother but barely mentioned his father and never said his name. Laurent supposed Aimeric thought that he would be easier to swindle if he was not aware of who Aimeric’s father was until he was utterly infatuated with Aimeric. Too bad Laurent already knew the truth and found the way Aimeric batted his eyelashes at him not particularly seductive and rather like a bug had flown in his eye and he was attempting to dislodge it without interrupting the conversation.

Jord's at least could have been a simple conversation. He already knew enough to keep Jord around. If worse came to worst, he thought, he may even have to marry him although that was something Laurent did not want to think about. He certainly did not want to reveal that consideration to Jord and have him jump the gun or believe Laurent returned his affection.

Normally, when Jord got chatty, Laurent retired to his chambers in a huff and insisted no one be let in. He could not do that in front of cameras on a show meant to show his humanity and make him appear to be someone men should wish they could marry though. So, instead, Laurent sat there and listened as Jord told him about his family.

Some of the details Laurent had known from the background check he had done the moment Jord had been assigned to his guard. Most of it, he had not been aware of and wasn’t particularly interested in now. Jord was sharing more of himself with Laurent and Laurent was nervous that it would make Jord going back to his posting after Laurent sent him home awkward. He did not need a guard who hesitated and he did not need to find a replacement guard for the best one on his staff either.

Erasmus recited poetry and even played the flute for Laurent. He was certain he was supposed to be honoured and enamoured, but Laurent thought that perhaps Erasmus would have been better employed as entertainment at the party rather than a guest.

Laurent avoided Damen as long as he could, hoping that his blood would come to a simmer instead of remaining at a full blown boil, but he had no such luck when Damen requested to speak to him privately after he returned from his time with Erasmus.

The idea of a private conversation was a joke as cameramen followed them outside to a bench where Damen sat down.

Laurent noticed that he sat down first instead of inviting Laurent to take a seat and waiting for him to settle. They were equals, so Damen did not wait for the prince to be seated before lounging himself, but Laurent thought that perhaps given the situation it still would have been proper. Damen clearly was not looking to compromise his pride in any way though and Laurent felt the same, although he knew that he could not maintain his dignity and his place in line for the throne.

“I was surprised to see an Akielon prince exit the limo,” Laurent said as he sat down in what little space Damen had left for him on the bench. Damen was a larger man than him with this broad shoulders and body, but Laurent found it disrespectful for Damen to take up two thirds of the bench on his own regardless.

“But I hope not disappointed,” Damen said.

He, at least, made eye contact which was a refreshing change after his time spent with Erasmus, but Laurent was not certain he felt comfortable with the weight of Damen’s stare. He would not let that show though.

“I haven’t decided yet,” Laurent said in a tone meant to come off playful.

He absolutely had decided, but Laurent figured not explicitly trusting the Akielon prince or doing anything to piss him off was the correct approach this early into things.

“You truly are stunning in person,” Damen said as he reached out and ran his fingers through a lock of Laurent’s hair, tucking it back behind his ear.

Laurent froze momentarily to prevent himself from recoiling from the action.

“I see the tales of your beauty have not been exaggerated,” Damen told him. “And cameras have not done it justice.”

Laurent wondered if he was supposed to be impressed that Damen wanted to jump his bones and apparently found him incapable of taking a good picture.

“I suppose you have many suitors yourself back in Akielos,” Laurent said. He supposed it could come off as a compliment for the camera, but what he really meant was _go back to Akielos and court one of them instead_. “It is no secret that your affection is easily won, for a time anyway.”

“I am not looking for just a bedmate anymore,” Damen told him. “I am looking for a king or queen to stand beside me and who better for the role than one who has already been raised as a prince.”

“Many would argue I haven’t been raised as much of a prince at all,” Laurent countered. “That my parents wasted all of their princeliness in Auguste’s DNA and lessons and I was just an afterthought.”

“I do not believe it is that simple,” Damen said. “To be raised in a castle as a prince and learn nothing of politics from it.”

Laurent thought that might be the first true thing Damen had told him since his name.

“That is true,” Laurent said. “I know plenty of politics. But a good politician does not make a good prince, don’t you think? Too much self interest is not good for the country.”

“And are the many right?” Damen questioned. “Are you too concerned with yourself to make a good prince?”

“I am here speaking diplomatically with an Akielon prince and on this show searching for the husband that will be best for my nation’s future,” Laurent countered. “Am I not?”

“Maybe,” Damen said, then he let out a chuckle. “Or maybe you are just here for a little fun.”

“That is your reputation,” Laurent pointed out. "Not mine."

“That may be true, but I’ve already told you I am here to change that,” Damen said.

“Right. Here to find yourself a prince,” Laurent said. He wondered if Damen had used the same lines on his brother. “Forgive me if I do not believe your words without any evidence to support them.”

“Then I will just have to prove it to you,” Damen assured him.

Laurent did not trust Damen and he wished to end the conversation, but he could not just get up and leave. So far, no one dared to interrupt another prince’s time with Laurent which meant that Laurent would have to find a way to get out of this conversation without seeming as if he was blowing the Akielon prince off.

That’s when Laurent remembered the first impression rose waiting for him in the living room and got an idea.

He had to give the rose to the man who had made the best first impression at the party and that man would be safe for the week before they even went to the rose ceremony. Damen certainly had not made the best first impression, but that did not matter. This whole thing was about putting on a show for the country and sticking it to his uncle.

The Regent expected Laurent to let his emotions get the better of him when it came to Auguste. He thought Laurent would send Damen home and show that he could not be trusted with fragile political alliances. Laurent was going to show him better and end this conversation with Damen all at the same time.

There was a hint of a genuine smirk on Laurent’s lips at the thought of his uncle’s reaction as he stood up and said, “Excuse me for a moment.”

“Of course,” Damen said with all the trained politeness of a prince. Laurent thought he was not the only one acting here.

Laurent headed inside and grabbed the rose off of the table before turning on his heel again. He could feel eyes on him and heard whispers as he headed for the back door again, but he did not care to stick around long enough to hear what they were.

Damen’s eyes widened for a moment in surprise when he saw what Laurent held in his hand as he returned.

“You cannot prove it to me if you do not stay,” Laurent said. “I want to believe your intentions. You have made a good first impression and I would like to give you the chance to follow through on it. Will you accept this rose?”

Damen’s smile slipped back in place. Laurent could not tell if it was for the cameras or just because he felt like a victor who had conquered Laurent.

“It would be my honour,” Damen said.

Laurent felt he was degrading himself as the Akielon prince stood up and waited with arms at his side while Laurent stuck the pin on his lapel, but at least it was over with quickly.

“I should probably go spend more time with the contestants who have not yet gotten a rose,” Laurent said. “Give them a chance. You understand, I’m sure.”

“Of course,” Damen said.

Laurent did not hesitate as he turned and left Damen on the bench to go spend time with more of the unpleasant contestants.

Orlant was a bore. He seemed more keen on landing himself a spot on the prince’s guard than he was on landing himself a spot on the altar at the end of this. Laurent wondered if he was aiming low to at least leave here with a better paying position or if he just wished to be closer to Jord and would rather end up in his bed.

Lazar told stories of how he had bravely fought to protect Vere as if Vere owed him for his valour so much that he should be handed the future king to bed. Laurent pretended to be impressed with his courage and skill and thanked him because he supposed that asking a war hero to talk about something else would be considered rude and unlikeable by the audience.

Makedon wasn’t much better. He too spoke of war, although his was of the battles he had led his army through. Laurent noticed that he did not deign to mention any battles that had occurred against Vere in the past. He supposed that wasn’t the way to seduce a Veretian prince. Then again, he wasn’t certain that boasting about his strength in controlling an enemy army was really the way to court him regardless, even if Laurent had been a man capable of being wooed.

At least Veretians would not be upset with him for sending an Akielon officer home. That made one decision easy for Laurent.

* * *

When it came time for the rose ceremony, Laurent had five roses to distribute since Damen already wore the first impression rose on his jacket. He was to send home two contestants that night and then one each week that followed until the final week when the last two contestants would propose to him and he would choose his husband.

The idea of marrying any of these men sickened Laurent, but he supposed that made it easier to choose a husband based on sheer strategy and without an ounce of desire in the mix.

Laurent knew who the audience would want him to pick first, so he called, “Aimeric. Would you accept this rose?”

“It would be my honour,” Aimeric said as Laurent placed the rose on his jacket.

“Erasmus,” Laurent called next because he supposed the man had been an appropriate level of charming, despite being from Akielos. “Would you accept this rose?”

Erasmus bowed his head in front of Laurent as he responded, “I will. Thank you.”

Laurent tucked a finger under Erasmus’s chin to lift it so that he could fasten the rose to Erasmus’s lapel. Erasmus took a sharp inhale of surprise and for a moment his eyes flickered to Laurent's before they quickly skirted away and a blush formed on his cheeks.

Laurent could feel Jord’s eyes boring into the side of his head without glancing in his direction. Someone was jealous that such a simple touch had been given to someone else by the so called ice prince.

“Jord,” Laurent said as he picked up the next flower. “Would you accept this rose?”

Jord stepped forward and allowed Laurent to fasten the rose to his lapel as he said, “I would love to.”

That left only two more roses to be distributed to two of Govart, Orlant, Lazar, and Makedon. Laurent would have quite liked to send all of them home, but that was not an option.

“Lazar,” he said since he could not send a Veretian warrior home the first night. “Would you accept this rose?”

“Of course, my prince,” Lazar said as he allowed Laurent to attach his rose to his jacket.

Only one rose was left before two of the men would be forced to leave without so much as a date.

It was obvious that Laurent could not send two Veretians home. To save all the Akielons and eliminate men from his own country would be a slap in the face to his audience. Sending just Akielons home would also have been too much of a statement.

Damen had already had the first impression rose and Laurent could not get rid of him so soon and toss out a potential political alliance so abruptly. He could not afford to look like he did not care about the country’s well-being and Vere’s flimsy peace with Akielos. He did not need to create an enemy of Akielos.

That had left Erasmus and Makedon if he were to send two Akielons home and he was not about to get rid of Erasmus. He had no intention of marrying him, but Erasmus at least was not particularly a threat of being sent by his uncle and wasn’t blatantly grabbing at powers the way the majority of the others were.

That meant he at least could eliminate one Veretian man tonight and although he did not trust or care for Orlant, Govart was the clear choice. He was certainly working with Laurent’s uncle and Laurent could not see the public being outraged at his decision.

“Orlant,” Laurent said. “Would you accept the final rose?”

Orlant looked surprised for just a moment before he stepped forward and said, “Of course.”

Laurent fastened the rose to Orlant’s jacket and wondered if once the other two were gone he would finally get a chance to relax without cameras in his face.


	2. Chapter 2

Laurent had no desire to spend time individually with any of the men competing to become his future husband. He had already decided that he would give Aimeric his rose on this date because Aimeric was Veretian and put on a show of charm.

He could not give the pre-rose ceremony rose to an Akielon again for the second week in a row and if he gave the date’s rose to a Veretian, the audience was less likely to become upset when he sent another Veretian home. Laurent planned on getting rid of another that he believed his uncle had sent.

For this week’s date, Laurent was taking the men horseback riding. Even if the men were unbearable, at least the activity would not be. Maybe if he was lucky, a few would even end up trailing behind where he would not have to deal with them. At the very least, no one could kiss his hand or touch his hair while he was on a horse.

Laurent’s father had taught him how to ride and he and Auguste had used to go riding often to race or hunt or just clear their heads. Laurent hadn’t stepped in the stables since Auguste had died.

He felt bad about ignoring his horse when he met her eyes, but there was a pit in his chest as he glanced at his brother’s horse. She was watching the door expectantly as if she wondered what Laurent was doing leading these strange men in here instead of Auguste. She was waiting for him, although he was never coming back and Laurent had to look away.

He walked over to his own horse to claim it and let her nuzzle her nose against his palm as he glanced around at the men he had brought with him.

It became abundantly clear who knew how to ride a horse and who had only ridden on the back of one or had never touched one before at all.

Jord slid onto his usual horse with ease. Orlant did the same beside him. Lazar selected a horse for himself and had no struggle climbing atop. Aimeric managed to get onto the horse just fine but nearly fell off the moment the horse moved without his guidance. Erasmus tried and failed to get on his own horse and Damen stepped over to assist him, guiding him with hands on his hips.

Laurent watched them and thought that Erasmus fit Damen’s known type just as well as he did, better even. The men and women Damen was known for bedding were blond haired and blue eyed and Erasmus certainly seemed eager to please a prince. Laurent thought he would probably feel more appreciated by Damen anyway. Perhaps, Erasmus would prove a distraction to Damen in weeks to come and Laurent would have an excuse to get rid of the other prince but, for now, Damen removed his hands the moment that Erasmus was in the saddle and turned his attention onto the horses as he looked for one suitable.

“What do you think you are doing?” Laurent snapped. He was dimly aware that this would not help his reputation and likeability but that did not matter as he watched Damen move to put a saddle on Auguste’s horse.

The Veretians all understood what was happening and braced themselves for Laurent to tear Damen a new one or have him whipped for such an offence, but Erasmus looked as confused as Damen did.

“I’m choosing a horse,” Damen said. “We are going riding, are we not?”

Auguste’s horse was the best in the stable. It was also the biggest and Damen was the biggest contestant since Laurent had sent Govart home.

“Not on that horse,” Laurent snarled.

“And why is that?” Damen asked with entitled amusement in his tone. Laurent would quite liked to have hit that smirk off of his face, but he thought that striking the prince of Akielos on camera was most likely frowned upon.

“That is Auguste’s horse,” Laurent said and he hated the strain he could hear in his voice. He was supposed to be in control here. He was supposed to remain composed and hold onto the act. That was what he was best at.

The amusement slid from Damen’s features.

“Oh,” he said. “I did not know. I am sorry.”

“I do not care,” Laurent told him coldly as he turned away to board his own horse instead.

Laurent did not watch as Damen removed the saddle from Auguste’s horse. He did not wait for him to get another horse ready. He just began riding and the men followed behind him. Part of him hoped that Damen would be left in the dust, although he was already calming down enough to know that he would have to fix this before the end of the date.

He would have to feign remorse and pretend that he felt bad for snapping at Damen when he did not. At least for now, Damen was far enough away that he could get some space to clear his head so he would not speak to him as sharply when it came time to fix things.

Damen proved to be an apt rider and unfortunately for Laurent, it was only mere minutes before he had caught up and pressed his way to the front of the group on the other side of Laurent from Lazar. At least he was on a different horse.

“I would not have gone to that horse had I known,” Damen insisted as he held pace with Laurent.

Laurent resisted the urge to bring his horse to a run to escape Damen’s presence. He stared straight ahead instead of responding for a long moment before he admitted in a flat tone, “You could not have known.”

“Auguste was a good man,” Damen said. “I met him a few times.”

Laurent vaguely wondered what Damen meant by a few times, but figured he must have been exaggerating. Laurent only knew of the one weekend.

“Does your father know that you would describe any Veretian as good?” Laurent challenged.

“I am not my father,” Damen said. “As I suspect you are not yours.”

“My father is dead,” Laurent pointed out flatly.

“And I am guessing you do not hold all of his values or all of your uncle’s.”

That caught Laurent’s attention enough for him to turn his head. “What do you know of my uncle?”

“Nothing personally,” Damen said and Laurent wasn’t sure if he was lying or if his uncle was just manipulating Damen indirectly.

“Is that so?” Laurent asked. He wanted Damen to know he did not believe him.

“Auguste was a good prince and a good warrior,” Damen said. “I know that my country is nervous about yours as yours is of mine. It is difficult to trust those whose best interest is the opposite of yours, but now that there is peace I hope that we can better our relationship. Even when the peace was new and many fought it, Auguste was kind and fair. I admired him.”

Laurent thought he admired him a great deal out of his clothes, but wasn’t so certain about the rest of Damen’s story. The words he spoke of Auguste were true, but that did not mean Laurent had to believe he meant them. Damen could easily be using his dead brother to try to get into his pants too and Laurent was not about to let that happen.

“If you are hoping I will be like him, you will be disappointed,” Laurent promised him. It was true of him as a prince and as Damen’s next intended victim.

“I am not much like my brother either,” Damen said.

Laurent thought he was probably supposed to ask more about Kastor. He did not. He was in no mood to hear about someone else’s brotherly love.

* * *

They could not ride all day and eventually, they came to a rest for an over the top picnic that had been prepared for them and to let the horses rest. There was a rose in the basket to remind them all that Laurent would have to choose on to keep on the date and keep safe until next week while the others went back to the house. Laurent supposed that meant he had to stop ignoring them. He supposed he did not have to give the rose to Aimeric after his appalling display of riding. If it hadn’t been for Jord’s assistance, he probably would not have made it to the clearing for lunch.

Lazar’s war stories were at least more entertaining when Damen was stuck there listening to them. He looked like he was trying very hard not to react as Lazar shamelessly discussed a battle he had helped win against Akielons a few years back. It had been one of the final battles before the peace. Truth be told, it was one of the only real battles Lazar had seen.

Damen had not personally fought in that battle, but he had fought in others like it and he was clearly not enjoying hearing of the destruction. His jaw seemed a little too tight suddenly. Laurent was definitely going to have to keep Lazar around to get under Damen’s skin and earn the respect of his Veretian audience by keeping the Veretian warrior around.

Laurent left Lazar to irritate Damen and Damen to try to respectfully sit there without making himself look bad to Veretians while he moved to go sit with the other contestants.

Jord moved over to make room between him and Aimeric as Laurent approached and Laurent took the seat,

“You think that’s smart?” Jord asked as he leaned closer to Laurent and glanced over in the direction of Damen and Lazar.

Laurent wasn’t certain if he meant allowing Lazar to talk about fighting to kill Akielons in front of the Akielon prince or keeping Damen around. Either way, he thought Jord was right that it was not necessarily smart, but it did suit Laurent’s agenda and that was what was important.

“I think Lazar telling stories does not change how that battle went,” Laurent said. “And if Damen is an Akielon prince worth anything, he already knows who won it.”

Jord eyed him for a moment and then let it go. The look on his face said that he knew Laurent was up to something and he did not need to know what. Jord was good at trusting Laurent like that.

Laurent endured the company for a while longer, but when everyone had finished eating and drinking he decided that he had had enough. It was time to hand out the rose.

There was only one Veretian that Laurent trusted enough to know he was keeping around, so Laurent grabbed the rose and turned to Jord. He did not bother with pulling him aside for privacy as he said, “I can only bring one of you on the rest of the date after we take the horses. Jord, would you accept this rose and continue the night?”

Jord grinned as he agreed, “Of course I will.”

Laurent did not miss the irritated look on Aimeric’s face, although it did not last long.

* * *

When they made it back to the stables, the men put the horses away and then Laurent asked the cameramen to leave him alone and give him a moment in the stable before the rest of the date.

Laurent was the prince, so the cameramen did not argue and left him alone. He waited until he was certain they were gone and then he sighed and headed over to his brother’s horse.

He went to pat her nose, but she pulled it away from him as if it was his fault that Auguste was not there.

“Do not look at me like that,” Laurent warned. “He is not coming back.”

Someone cleared their throat and Laurent was irritated to realize he wasn’t alone anymore after all.

When he turned around, of course, it was Prince Damen strolling around wherever he wanted as if he owned the place.

“You are not supposed to be around me without cameras,” Laurent pointed out. When Damen did not leave, he added, “Come back again for my brother’s horse? Want to take it for a few rides and then abandon it like you did with Auguste.”

“That is why you do not like me,” Damen said as if the idea had just occurred to him which only made Laurent hate him more. “I don’t know what your brother told you, but he was an adult who made a choice, same as I did. He was the one who asked me to go home with him.”

“And you were as eager to toss him aside as you were to toss him aside after as you were to jump into his bed,” Laurent insisted.

“Auguste knew what he was agreeing to,” Damen said.

“You looking for a prince to stand beside you?” Laurent accused. “The same line you have been using on me?”

“No,” Damen said. “He knew it was a casual weekend. He agreed to it.”

Laurent did not believe him. “He was upset when you left. You didn’t call him. You forgot him.”

“I am not the one whose call he was waiting for,” Damen said. “You may want to remember your brother a certain way, but he only ever wanted a couple nights to try to get over another. I am not the one that upset your brother and your brother had no problem using me the same as I used him.”

“I do not believe you and I won’t listen to this,” Laurent insisted. “Leave. You should not be in here anyway.”

“We have bigger problems than you disliking me,” Damen said. “You shouldn’t let Lazar talk like that.”

“Why?” Laurent asked. “The whole point of this mess is for the Veretians to feel I care enough about the country to not be removed from the royal line. Keeping around a man who speaks of Veretian superiority should do that just fine.”

“Your country is not the only one watching,” Damen said. “Mine is watching also.”

“Fine,” Laurent said. “I’ll give you first rose at the ceremony to make your country feel appreciated again? Now leave.”

“No,” Damen said. “It’s not that easy.”

“Believe it or not I am not an idiot unfamiliar with our countries’ peace and how fragile it is,” Laurent said. “But I can’t do anything about it if I get removed from the royal line and my uncle has all the power. Or if I tell a Veretian soldier to stop talking about his battle victory lest it hurt a poor Akielon’s ears and get portrayed as an Akielon sympathizing traitor and still get removed. There is much more going on here than you know. You are here as a part of my uncle’s game.”

“I don’t think you know the full extent of this either,” Damen said. “It is not just your uncle’s game. Akielos is trying to start a war. That is why I was sent here. My father is dying. The public doesn’t know it yet, but he won’t be able to hide it for much longer. My brother wants to have me removed from the royal line and himself added.”

“He’s a bastard and you are the rightful heir,” Laurent countered. “Going on a tv show is not going to make Akielons put a bastard on the throne.”

“Kastor’s plan is more complicated than that. Lady Jokaste helped him with it, but then she had regrets,” Damen said. “She told me before I left. Kastor sent me here to find a reason to start a war. He is watching for anything he can hold up as Veretian violation of the peace or Veretians mistreating Akielons. I am supposed to be trying to create an alliance with Vere but any step too close to Vere discredits me. Any cruelty on behalf of Vere I endure is a reason to follow Kastor over me when our father dies and to start a war. Any cruelty on behalf of Vere I fight back against is a reason for Vere to start the war instead.”

Laurent considered for a moment and then said, “It is bad news for both of our countries if my uncle becomes king. He would start the war up again also. As much as I hate this, our interests align.”

“So then what do you suggest?” Damen asked.

“My uncle wants me to send you home and show that I am incapable of handling the relationship with Vere,” Laurent said. “He knows that if I had my way you would have turned around and gotten right back in that limo. That is why you are still here. That is why I am pretending the sight of you does not repulse me. I have to pretend to give you a chance before I get rid of you, but sending Akielos’s prince home is a delicate balance. Play along and pretend we are interested in each other and getting along. We ‘give it a chance’ for a few weeks and come to the mutual decision that the spark is not there and we are better separate. We part under the pretense of friendship with a stable political alliance and you go back to Vere. Neither of us loses our spot in the royal line.”

“I am not certain it will be that simple,” Damen said.

Laurent was positive that it would not be. “Does that mean that you have a better idea?”

“No,” Damen said. “I will play along with your plan.”

“Good,” Laurent said. “You can go now.”

“Laurent, I have been forced to be here as well, but I did not think-” Damen began before Laurent cut him off.

“That you would want to fuck me?” Laurent finished for him shrewdly. “I am well aware of which head you prefer to follow and do not think that I am about to stoop so low as to let you bed me just because I possess the blond hair and blue eyes you seek out in your men and your women. I am a prince, not a whore. You can go back to Lady Jokaste when you go home.”

Damen looked like he wanted to say something else, but he did not. He simply turned and left.

* * *

 The rest of Laurent’s date with Jord was seeing a play and having dinner after. He wished that he could discuss his conversation with Damen with Jord, but he could not speak of anything of any importance in front of the cameras so they kept to small talk about the play and their meal and their life outside of the show, without ever mentioning the Regent or any of the things they normally would discuss.

Laurent found himself distracted as he thought over who to send home. It couldn’t be Erasmus or Damen yet, especially if Akielons were looking to start a war. He had to be careful who he chose out of the Veretians though. He could use Jord’s advice, but that was an impossibility when cameras followed them all night, right up until Laurent dropped Jord back off in the wing of the castle that had been designated for the contestants.

* * *

The night before the cocktail party and rose ceremony, Laurent heard a knock on his door late at night. He was afraid that it would be someone sent by his uncle, but it was Damen. Laurent was not certain why he was there, but at least the cameras were not there so they could level with each other and considering the way the conversation in the stable had gone, Damen probably was not there aiding the Regent’s agenda.

“What do you want?” Laurent questioned as Damen oh so rudely let himself into Laurent’s quarters.

“Have you heard any updates from Akielos since filming began?” Damen questioned.

“Don’t you think if your brother was planning to start a war, he would not tell me before he struck?” Laurent questioned. “Don’t you have some other contact in Akielos you could call?”

“I would call Nikandros if I could,” Damen said. “But I am not allowed to be in contact with anyone while I am on the show. They have ensured that.”

“Probably my uncle,” Laurent said. “He wouldn’t want you to be able to pass on any information to Akielos if you caught on to what he was attempting to start.”

“You have a phone,” Damen pointed out. “I could use it to call Nikandros and see if things have gotten tenser at home.”

Laurent considered then handed his phone over as he said, “I have not heard of any battles starting, but it may be best if you keep an eye on if Akielons are falling for your brother’s plan and angry yet. You only use the phone here though while I watch you.”

Damen nodded his head in agreement as he dialed his friend’s number from memory.

Laurent listened in on Damen’s phone call, but he did not get much out of it. When Damen hung up the phone and handed it back over, Laurent asked, “So?”

“They already do not like Lazar from the first episode,” Damen said. “Kastor is trying to fuel Akielon anger over you eliminating an Akielon warrior and leaving Lazar as transparent Veretian favouritism. They are going to eat my brother’s words up when they see how Lazar behaved on the date this week and that I just sat there.”

Laurent considered. “Before our conversation in the stable, I was planning on leaving Lazar another week since Veretians will want him to stay. But Lazar is creating tension already and is most likely working for my uncle so I suppose it is time to go. I will have to make it look unrelated to his words on the date for Veretians.”

“Get him to talk about something other than his career as a soldier at the cocktail party,” Damen said. “Decide that he is boring and send him home. Or ignore him and if he does not find the time to talk to you, send him home for not making the effort.”

“I will figure something out,” Laurent said. “Now you should go back to your room before someone catches you here.”

Damen left and Jord appeared in the hallway when he was halfway down it.

Jord waited until he was inside Laurent’s quarters with the door closed before he questioned, “What was he doing in here? He’s not supposed to be sneaking around off camera.”

“Neither are you,” Laurent pointed out.

“I came to figure out what your strategy is,” Jord said. “And who you think is on the Regent’s payroll. Damen is one of my main suspects to be working with your uncle.”

“Relax,” Laurent said. “I do not trust Damen. I do not even like him. But he can access information we need about how Akielons are reacting to the show. I need to impress Vere to keep my uncle from becoming king, but I also need to prevent Akielos from starting another war. That’s why Lazar has to go.”

“You can’t send him home off of the way that date went without making more Veretians loyal to your uncle,” Jord pointed out.

“I know,” Laurent said. “Which is why Lazar is not going to get the chance to talk to me at the cocktail party and I am going to feel that he is just not serious enough about wanting to marry me.”

“And how are you going to manage that?” Jord asked.

“No one likes interrupting a prince for time,” Laurent said. “Even an Akielon one. And when Damen or another is not occupying my time, I need you to steal me before Lazar can. Between the three of us, we should be able to build enough excuses.”

“And you trust Damen to want the same as you?” Jord asked. “What makes you think that he does not want Akielos to start a war? Maybe he wants you dethroned to make Vere less stable and easier to attack.”

“His brother is trying to start a war,” Laurent said. “And plans to use it as a reason that Damen is unfit to sit on the throne when he is off trying to win me and letting Veretians say anything they want about Akielons. War is not in either of our best interests at the moment. Besides, this is a way to test if he does what he says he will.”

Jord looked unsure, but he nodded his head and said, “Alright, we’ll try it. Worst case, I can pick a fight with Lazar and already have a rose.”

* * *

The cocktail was a formality more than anything since Laurent had already decided who he would send home, but it was also a chance to test Damen’s loyalty and make up for the err in his public appearance on the date while ignoring Lazar as an excuse to send him home.

Laurent asked to speak with Damen alone first and led him outside, carrying a couple of glasses.

“Prince Laurent getting me a drink,” Damen said. “Who would have guessed?”

“Consider it my way of making up for snapping at you earlier this week,” Laurent said, although they both knew that he did not mean it. “I was not expecting anyone to go for Auguste’s horse. She hasn’t been ridden since he died. I was taken off guard.”

“She is a beautiful horse,” Damen said. “I see why Auguste liked her.”

“Perhaps we should talk about something else,” Laurent suggested. He was not in the mood to talk to Damen about his brother and he did not want to use Auguste as part of the act. “When did you learn to ride a horse like that?”

Damen managed to talk to Laurent about Akielos and all the skills he was taught as a boy for over twenty minutes before someone finally got up the nerve to risk interrupting the princes.

It was Aimeric who smiled and said, “My apologies, but I was wondering if I could have some time with the prince when you are done.”

It was clear that he was addressing Laurent as a prince and not Damen, but Damen smiled gracefully and said, “He is all yours.”

Aimeric grinned with relief.

As Damen rose from his seat, he turned to Laurent and told him, “Perhaps we will find more time to talk later.”

Laurent supposed that meant he was willing to help block Lazar.

* * *

The cocktail party dragged out, but by the time that it ended he had spoken with Orlant and Erasmus each for several minutes, had spent time with Aimeric twice, had been nabbed by Damen four times, and had been intercepted by Jord before Lazar could get to him three times. Lazar had not managed to get more than one word out of his mouth to Laurent but it did not appear as if Damen was personally stealing Lazar’s turns out of spite because of the way the date had gone, especially with Jord running interference as well.

At the rose ceremony, there were five men who did not have a rose yet and only four roses.

“Damen,” Laurent called first because he needed to secure his damage control and he had told Damen he would give him the first rose back in the stable. “Would you accept this rose.”

“Happily,” Damen said as he let Laurent attach it for him again.

“Aimeric,” Laurent called next.

Aimeric accepted the rose with a triumphant smile and then took his place beside Jord and Damen who already had roses.

When Laurent called Orlant next, that left only one rose left and Erasmus and Lazar the only two left.

“Erasmus,” Laurent said as he lifted the last rose. “Would you accept this rose?”

Erasmus seemed surprised but delighted as he stepped forward and said, “Yes. Thank you.”

“Lazar, I am sorry,” Laurent said, although he was not particularly sorry at all. “Everyone else made an effort to talk to me tonight. You are the only one I did not get a chance to talk to tonight and I could not trust that you were really here for me without you putting that effort in.”

Lazar did not look impressed with the reason, but he knew better than to argue with the prince on camera. None of the other Veretians seemed overly concerned about the elimination so Laurent hoped that meant he had made the right choice.


	3. Chapter 3

Jord came to Laurent’s room away from the cameras again the night after the rose ceremony.

“What is the plan for this week?” Jord asked. “Do you think your uncle still has Veretians planted or just Damen?”

“I think Damen is the obvious plant and my uncle has underestimated my ability to ignore the past to use him to our mutual advantage,” Laurent said. “I think my uncle has men everywhere. Half the camera crew is probably on his payroll at least. Producers too.”

“And the other contestants left?”

“Aimeric is on his father’s payroll,” Laurent said. “And Guion would do anything for whichever side he thinks will win.”

“So he goes next?” Jord asked. “Then Damen?”

“I’ve got a two on one date with Orlant and Aimeric,” Laurent said. “Only one can stay from that. We’re going hiking. You saw Aimeric on a horse. Somehow I do not think hiking will go much better. I can get rid of him after that.”

“And the rest of us?”

“I have a three on one with you, Damen, and Erasmus,” Laurent said. “And a plan to test Damen’s loyalty.”

“And are you going to tell me what that plan is?” Jord questioned.

“You do not need to know,” Laurent told him. He switched focus as he asked, “How well do you know Orlant?”

“I don’t know,” Jord said. “I’ve worked with him but not closely. He seems better than the others.”

“Do you trust him?” Laurent asked.

“If you’re asking if I’d share information with him, the answer is no,” Jord said.

Laurent mulled that over for a moment and then changed the subject. “Guards talk, right? About all the things they see.”

“I don’t know what you’re accusing me of, but-”

“I’m not,” Laurent said. “I was wondering if you had heard anything about Auguste being with anyone in secret. Or seen anything. You were on his guard for a time.”

“Is this about Damen and him?” Jord asked. “I wasn’t on his guard that weekend. I don’t know if it’s true or not, but I’ve heard it.”

Laurent was not thrilled that his brother’s secrets were so easily known by the guards, but he pressed on, “What about before that? Was there someone else?”

“I don’t know,” Jord said. “He’d keep strange hours but so do you and you don’t have anyone in your bed. He’d have visitors at odd hours but so do you. There could have been. There were rumours but I was already on your guard at that point and I don’t know anything specific. What’s this about?”

“Nothing,” Laurent said, but he considered Jord’s answer anyway.

It was possible that Damen has been telling him the truth that Auguste had been getting over someone else with him and that was what he had been upset about. It was possible Damen was lying or making false assumptions. Laurent wondered if which was true really mattered, even if Damen wasn’t lying.

“Whatever it is, just let it go,” Jord said. “There’s no way you’re going to figure it out. That was years ago and he’s gone now. You can’t ask everyone in the country if they ever slept with him and, even if you did, you wouldn’t know if you got the truth.”

“Do you think he’d have hidden someone from me?” Laurent asked. He did not say that Auguste had told him about Damen after when Laurent had mentioned his suspicions.

“I don’t know,” Jord said. “You knew him better than I did, but everyone has their secrets sometimes. Who knows what Auguste’s were.”

Laurent was used to Damen coming to his room at night now to discuss strategy or for him to call Nikandros, but he was not used to Damen showing up so late. Jord had left hours ago when Laurent woke up to knocking at his door. He yanked a sweater on and wondered if his uncle had sent someone, but when he opened the door it was Damen standing there.

"You have bedhead," Damen said as he stepped inside.

He said it as if he had never seen anyone with bedhead before which was very hard to believe for a man who spent so much time bedding men and women.

"I was sleeping," Laurent said. "What are you doing here?"

"I was going to come earlier to call Nikandros," Damen said. "But I overheard something when I went to sneak out, so I had to stop. I believe Orlant is working for your uncle."

"I already figured that out," Laurent pointed out. "This was not worth waking me."

It was fascinating, however, that Damen had deemed the information important to share with Laurent, especially so urgently.

"He was on the phone with someone," Damen continued. "He told them that Jord was gone again, presumably to your room. He said that Jord was a problem that needed to be sent home and he needed help to do it. That was all I heard before he hung up and I went back to my bedroom so that I would not be caught coming here when your uncle already knows Jord does."

"And you are here, risking being caught coming here because you do not want me to send Jord home?" Laurent questioned.

"This has nothing to do with Jord," Damen said.

"Except this proves that Jord is not working for my uncle, just like I suspected," Laurent said.

"You need to send Orlant home," Damen said.

"Orlant is not the only one working for my uncle," Laurent said.

"If this is you accusing me of working for him again-"

"It's not," Laurent said. "I know his interests and yours don't line up. Aimeric is working for him too. I was planning to send him home tomorrow on a two on one date with him and Orlant."

"Aimeric is not the one making phone calls to try to make sure you send home those helping you," Damen pointed out. "You don't know how he is going to try to get rid of Jord."

Laurent considered. "Aimeric can go home next week. Or the week after and you can go next week to not get keep more Akielons than Veretians. I have to get rid of you before the end for sure. There is no way it can end well if you do not propose to me or I do not allow you to or do not accept."

“I agree,” Damen said. “It would not be wise to wait that long to send me home.”

“Is it too late to call Nikandros?” Laurent questioned.

“No,” Damen said. “He will answer if he knows I am calling him. He will be irritated, but helpful and it is best to know how Akielos is reacting sooner rather than later.”

Laurent sat at his desk and waited as Damen made the phone call.

Damen handed Laurent’s phone back to him as he said, “Kastor does not have a lot to work with since Lazar was sent home. Nik says he’s trying, but he doesn’t have as much friction to work with.”

That was at least a small relief.

* * *

Aimeric was not adept at hiking. Laurent was becoming increasingly concerned that he was going to break his ankle. Well, he was going increasingly concerned that Aimeric would break his ankle and he would be blamed for it because he had chosen hiking.

Orlant was having a much easier time. Laurent wished that he would trip.

Aimeric’s attempts at charm had irritated Laurent from the start and Orlant had just bored him for the most part. He had suspected Orlant worked for his uncle, but it irritated him that Orlant was selling out Jord and not just Laurent.

For all Laurent knew, his uncle’s attempts at getting rid of Laurent could be getting rid of him permanently and not just getting him kicked off of the show.

It was almost humorous that Orlant had angled for a job on Laurent’s guard when Laurent would have him fired from the guard altogether if he could. He supposed it made sense that his uncle had tried to get him to hire a new guard of his own accord that he would falsely trust, but Laurent was not so stupid.

The date was unbearably long and not just because the weather was far too warm for a hike with so much clothing on.

Laurent wished he could send both of the men home, but that was not an option. Besides, sending more men home would bring the royal wedding closer and give him less time to figure out how he was going to navigate whatever his uncle would have planned after this. Laurent could send two men home this week if he got rid of one of the other three at the rose ceremony, but he did not think that would be a wise decision.

When the rose came, Laurent gave it to Aimeric.

“I am not certain that you are here for the right reasons,” Laurent told Orlant. “I feel you may be here for a job interview more than you are here for me and that is why I have to send you home.”

* * *

Unfortunately, giving Aimeric the rose and eliminating Orlant meant that Laurent was stuck on the second half of a date with Aimeric.

They went to a concert. Laurent did not enjoy the music or the company. Aimeric wanted to dance and Laurent did not, but he could not look like the grouch who refused the date he presumably had selected to stay out of some kind of attraction to him, so Laurent reluctantly obliged.

At least Aimeric let him lead, but it was unpleasant. The unpleasantness was only amplified when Aimeric leaned in and kissed him.

Laurent would have quite liked to have recoiled, but that would look suspicious. Besides, he did not need his uncle knowing that he was onto the true reason that Aimeric was there.

Laurent endured the kiss with about as much enthusiasm as he endured trips to the dentist. He kissed back a little for appearances but did not let Aimeric escalate things.

It was a relief when the band finally stopped playing and he could go home.

* * *

Damen appeared at Laurent’s door at his usual time the night after Laurent’s two on one date.

“Aimeric is quite proud of himself for being the first to kiss you,” Damen noted. “How does that work with the plan to send him home next week?”

“I will just say he is an unpleasant kisser,” Laurent said with a shrug. “Too much drool.”

“And is that what you will say of me when we decide there is no spark between us?” Damen asked in an amused tone as he stepped closer to Laurent.

“Bold of you to assume that I will let you kiss me,” Laurent countered. He did not let himself react to Damen’s invasion of his personal space. “Unless you plan to force me to play along in front of the cameras to prevent a war.”

Damen looked surprised by the accusation.

“I prefer to kiss those who also wish to kiss me,” Damen said and took a step back.

Laurent found himself more shaken by that than if Damen had pressed the issue.

* * *

The three on one date took place on a yacht. Damen was dressed in true Akielon fashion to begin with and as if that was not enough skin bare, he removed his shirt twenty minutes after they left land.

Laurent glanced away. He was not sure if Damen was playing a game with the blatant display of skin or if this was just a result of the contrast in modesty from Vere to Akielos.

The yacht had two seating areas. Laurent intentionally pulled Jord aside to talk to him in the less romantic of the two, leaving Damen and Erasmus alone at the table with wine and cheeses.

He supposed Damen’s display of skin most likely impressed his fellow Akielon and maybe if he was lucky Damen would become distracted by Erasmus and make himself easy to eliminate.

If not, then at the very least he would have tested Damen’s loyalty and if he would let himself be distracted from their alliance by the first blond haired blue eyed man to look at him.

Unfortunately, Damen seemed to be keeping polite company with Erasmus but not flirting with him so far. His eyes remained on Laurent and there was an amused arrogance to his expression that said he knew exactly what Laurent was doing.

Laurent only half heard Jord’s story of the time he had gone fishing with friends at night and fallen off of the boat. He missed what happened overboard, but he supposed someone must have gotten him back out of the water if he was sitting there with him now.

Damen gaze flickered over to Jord and then back at Laurent again as he raised his eyebrows slightly. Laurent did not care for Damen’s amusement at Jord’s obliviousness to the test that Damen had apparently figured out.

Part of Laurent wished Damen had fallen for his trap so easily. Things would be less complicated to be certain that he was a skeeze and to ship him off for disrespecting him by trying to bed another contestant. Then again, that probably would not have been good for preventing a war either. At least it would reflect poorly on only Damen and probably garner Laurent some sympathy though.

“Laurent,” Jord said and Laurent quickly turned his gaze from Damen and met the other man’s eyes. “Are you listening?”

“Yes, yes,” Laurent said. “You were fishing and fell overboard and barely made it back on the boat. I’ve never been fishing. It seems it would be much easier than hunting, but also much more boring.”

Laurent struggled to keep his undivided attention on Jord to ignore Damen, but he was aware of Damen’s eyes on him every moment.

Perhaps, Laurent’s act worked a little too well.

Jord apparently did not think that it was a wise decision for the one to be sent home soon who was working for the Regent to be the only one to have kissed Laurent. Somehow, Laurent doubted that strategy was the only going through Jord’s mind as he leaned forward to kiss him.

Laurent doubted the Jord would have been so bold as to kiss him unprovoked if he had not heard of that strategy already working for Aimeric and if Aimeric being the only one to have kissed Laurent was not bad for the way things would play out. But Jord had been wanting to kiss Laurent for a long time and Laurent had no doubt that he had kissed him in part so that Damen would not be the one to remedy that situation.

Laurent could not pull away from the kiss, especially since he had few options and he did not have the luxury to eliminate one of the only people he could trust and the one who at this rate he was going to have to marry. Besides, he did not need to embrace his frigid reputation if he wished to be liked which unfortunately had to in order to stay in the royal line.

He leaned into the kiss and was relieved when it was over.

Damen’s eyes were of course on his when it was over. He seemed amused with the corner of his lips tilted up. He wiped his hand over his lips. Laurent wasn’t certain if he was asking if the kiss had been too slobbery or if he was trying to tell Laurent that evidence of it was on his lips.

Against his will, Laurent found himself wiping his lips off with the back of his hand and Damen let out a merely imperceptible chuckle. Laurent wondered how such a pleasant laugh could be so irritating.

Damen said something to Erasmus who looked surprised. There was a brief conversation and then Erasmus came over, head bowed and cheeks red, to request a turn to speak with Laurent.

Laurent had no doubt that Damen had encouraged him to try to shift Laurent’s focus from Jord and to prove that he was not there to shop for men out of Laurent’s options.

* * *

There was a rose on the three on one date, but Laurent chose not to give it out. He did not wish to encourage Jord or Damen and it would not make sense to give it to Erasmus. Besides, giving the rose to Jord at a date two weeks in a row would carry too much weight, but so would making Damen the first he gave a second rose before the rose ceremony.

Jord looked confused by Laurent’s strategy.

Erasmus looked surprised but quickly covered it up.

Damen just smirked like he knew too much. Laurent really resented that smirk.

* * *

When someone knocked on Laurent’s door that night, he expected to find Damen and not Jord, although logically either would make sense.

“What the hell was that today?” Jord questioned the moment that the door was closed.

“Giving out the rose would have made more of a statement than passing the opportunity up,” Laurent pointed out calmly.

“Not that,” Jord said. “What was with all of the eye sex between you and Damen today. You couldn’t keep your eyes off of each other. Was that all part of your act? Because I don’t think the people want to watch their prince get hot for an Akielon prince, especially when it means ruining his ability to focus.”

“The  _ what _ between us?” Laurent questioned. “You do not know what you are talking about.”

Laurent had a feeling that Jord was the one who did not want to watch Laurent get hot and bothered by Damen. That absolutely was not what had been happening, but Laurent was troubled by the suggestion that he could be attracted to Damen.

He was even more troubled by the fact that he was not entirely certain Jord was as incorrect as he wished him to be.

Laurent did not wish to marry Damen or even date him. But at least he was clever and so far a trustworthy ally. Laurent supposed he could see why others would find him attractive as well, not that he was about to drop all logic and hop into bed with him because of it.

It also did not hurt that Damen was the only one but Erasmus who had yet to stick his tongue in Laurent’s mouth, despite his clear desire to.

* * *

At the cocktail party, Damen stole Laurent away from Jord while they were talking outside. Damen led Laurent to a different bench and Laurent noticed that Jord hesitated outside to keep an eye on their interaction as if he thought Laurent needed a babysitter to determine if he was behaving properly.

“I know what you were doing on that date, Prince Laurent,” Damen said.

“And what was that?” Laurent questioned. He pretended that the answer was inconsequential to him.

“Testing my faithfulness,” Damen responded. “Seeing if the rumours are true that I can not resist anyone with blue eyes and blond hair.”

“And here I was thinking you were my type,” Laurent countered.

“You guessed my type correctly, but my eyes are only for you,” Damen said. “Not him.”

Laurent thought Damen was laying it on awfully thick and wondered how much of it was for the cameras and how much was actually meant for him.

“How did I do on your test?” Damen asked although it was clear that he already knew the answer.

Laurent leaned forward to kiss Damen. He had to stretch his neck up to reach.

The kiss was not meant for Damen. It was intended for his audience, those watching on television, Jord, and his uncle all alike.

Laurent had to pretend to give Damen a fair chance and he had to prove that he would not let Damen’s presence get under his skin. He had already been kissed by two Veretians this week. It would not reflect well on him to the Akielons if he only kissed Veretians and kept the Akielons around only for show.

It did not hurt that Laurent could still feel Jord’s eyes on him and he did not want Jord to become too possessive or feel he had too much say in Laurent’s actions.

The kiss was not entirely unpleasant and Laurent was surprised. There was certainly no way that he would admit that to Damen later though. Damen put on a show and Laurent could not tell if this was Damen pulling out all the stops for him or the camera.

“I suppose that means I passed,” Damen said when he came up for air.

Laurent glanced over at Jord and Damen turned to follow his gaze. Jord looked unimpressed and when he made eye contact with Damen, he turned and went inside.

“There is something that you should know,” Damen said and Laurent wondered what could be so important that Damen would tell him at a cocktail party and not one of their private meetings. Unless this was all part of some game for the cameras. “I believe there is something going on between Jord and Aimeric. Behind the cameras.”

“Jord has been loyal to me for years,” Laurent countered. “He would not be messing around with another contestant.”

“Jord may be loyal, but what about Aimeric?” Damen questioned.

Laurent realized what Damen was trying to tell him. Aimeric was the one who had been sent to get Jord eliminated. Aimeric had a rose and could not be sent home. Aimeric was trying to manipulate things to make Jord appear disloyal and interested in another. Damen was warning him so that he could be prepared if Aimeric were to set something up in front of the cameras or Laurent as well.

“Aimeric has a rose and you have no evidence,” Laurent said for the cameras. “I have no reason not to trust him and I will not send anyone home over speculation.”

Damen nodded and Laurent was fairly certain he understood that Laurent’s words were for show, but he trusted Damen’s assessment of the situation.

* * *

At the rose ceremony, there were four men and three roses, but Aimeric already wore a rose in his lapel.

Laurent could save all of the men and that was what he had been planning to do right up until he was standing there with three roses before him.

If he was to get rid of Aimeric next week, he would need one less Akielon. There was no way that he could keep two Akielons and only one Veretian without creating waves.

He also was aware that the situation with Damen was becoming more complicated and that he would be better off accelerating things so he could get rid of him before lines between them became any more blurred.

“I have changed my mind,” Laurent said. “I can only give out two of these roses tonight.”

Jord’s face hardened. He had to know that he would be safe, but he did not seem to enjoy the change of plans occurring without Laurent letting him know.

“Jord,” Laurent said. “Will you accept this rose?”

“Yes,” Jord said.

He at least seemed to get some satisfaction out of the fact that he was chosen first as he accepted his rose.

“Damen,” Laurent said. “Would you accept this rose?”

“Of course,” Damen said.

Laurent had at least grown used to lowering himself to sticking a pin on Damen’s jacket for him at this point.

“Erasmus,” Laurent said. “I’m sorry, but I feel that my relationships with the other contestants have progressed this week in a way that ours has not and that is why I have to send you home.”


	4. Chapter 4

Laurent had just finished explaining his actions at the rose ceremony to Jord and was rather hoping to get some sleep when Damen appeared at his door.

Jord glanced between Damen and Laurent for a moment before he left down the hallway.

When the door was closed behind him, Damen said, “I suppose that means I am going home this week.”

Laurent found that pretty obvious when they had already agreed that it would be unreasonable and irresponsible for Laurent to keep Damen around in the final two.

“There will be three one on one dates this week,” Laurent said. “I don’t have any say in what they are. I am told it is to be a surprise for me and my dates which I am certain means my uncle is up to something. But we make it through your date and then at the cocktail party decide this is not in our countries’ best interests and we go our separate ways civilly and we can be done with this.”

Each of the dates would last nearly a full day and Laurent was dreading spending so much time in whatever traps his uncle had set for him.

“I may be done with this,” Damen said. “But you will not. You will still have another week to make it through.”

“I can take care of myself.”

“I never said that you could not,” Damen said and he took a step closer again. Laurent went stiff as Damen ran his fingers through Laurent’s hair as if he was trying to fix a stray strand that Laurent was almost certainly had already been in place. “I am well aware of how capable you are.”

Laurent came back to his senses. He did not take a step back but stared Damen down as he warned, “That kiss was for show. Nothing more. Do not expect a repeat off camera.”

Damen stood there a moment longer, searching Laurent’s eyes. Laurent was not sure what he was looking for and hoped he saw nothing.

* * *

The first one on one date was with Jord. It was an underwhelming day of surprise. They went for a boring fancy dinner and to a boring poetry cafe where amateurs butchered the artform. Laurent was certain his uncle had influenced the date to be boring and unpleasant in an attempt to manipulate Laurent into finding Jord boring instead of choosing him.

Laurent had no plan to let that work, but that did not make the date any less painful.

The conversation was boring and false for the camera. They could not discuss anything important. Laurent far preferred the conversations they could have off camera and had had before this show. He far preferred when he had not had to kiss Jord to make it seem that he really was interested in marrying Jord reasons beyond just strategy.

The poetry cafe was awful. It was open mic night for hours. Laurent was relieved that Jord at least did not go up to the mic, but Laurent was utterly exhausted from the bad poetry after the first twenty minutes.

He doubted Jord was enjoying listening any more than he was.

* * *

Aimeric’s date was even worse. Laurent wondered how stupid his uncle thought that he was. The date started off at a museum that Laurent might have found interesting had he been there without Aimeric and off camera.

He did not want to answer Aimeric’s questions while Aimeric distracted him. He did not appreciate Aimeric’s focus on the history between Vere and Akielos. The date became more of a balancing act than anything enjoyable, but it was clear that the Regent thought that Laurent would fall for Aimeric if he spent a date in locations he would appreciate.

Laurent wished that Aimeric would let go of his hand. He wished that he could have just gotten away with one forced kiss instead of three.

After the museum, they went out for dinner at Laurent’s favourite restaurant. Laurent had used to come here for his birthday every year, but he hadn’t come there without Auguste before.

He did not enjoy being there and he did not enjoy the company either. Laurent could not have been much more relieved when the date finally came to an end.

* * *

Unlike the other two, Damen did not kiss Laurent at the beginning of their date. It would have made sense for appearances and it was clear that Damen had no qualms about kissing Laurent after he had attempted it off camera.

Laurent kissed him instead because he could not look as if he had already made up his mind to eliminate Damen before their date even began. He supposed at least he may not have to kiss him goodbye at the end of the day.

Damen’s date was clearly meant to incite anger from Veretians and Akielons alike.

The surprise half of their date was that they were taken shopping. More specifically, they were taken shopping for Veretian clothing for Damen.

Laurent knew that it would be an insult to Akielons to see their prince toss aside Akielon clothing and culture to impress Veretian royalty. It would be an insult to Veretians if Damen refused.

“I suppose it makes sense for me to try out Veretian fashion while I am in Vere,” Damen said casually, although Laurent was certain he was just as aware of how dangerous this situation was. “Perhaps, one day when you come to Akielos, you can try our fashion.”

“Of course,” Laurent said because it would be foolish to refuse, even if he did not particularly plan on following through.

Laurent helped Damen choose clothing that he would be stuck in for the rest of the date. Damen was the most covered Laurent had ever seen him in a turtleneck and pants that reached his ankles with zero so-called fashionable holes in them. Damen stared at his reflection for a long moment but concealed whatever reaction he was having.

“How do I look?” Damen asked.

Laurent wondered if he actually cared about Laurent’s opinion or if he was just phishing for a compliment as he responded, “Ready for a day in Vere.”

* * *

The second surprise came when Laurent tried to exit the store and was told that there was a bag of clothes waiting for him as well. In his bag, was a casual Akielon outfit.

Veretians were not bound to be impressed by their prince ‘dressing down’ to Akielon standards to woo Damen. Kastor would have a field day inciting anger in Akielons if Laurent refused when Damen was already dressed in Veretian clothing and Laurent had already agreed to hypothetically wear Akielon clothing one day.

Laurent did not have much of an option, so he took the bag to the change room and tried not to think too hard about how ridiculous and exposed he would look in Akielon clothing.

When he had fully changed, Laurent looked at himself in the mirror. He wore a muscle shirt so low and so skinny that both of his nipples were out. The jeans he wore now were skinny and strategically ripped in more places than they were not. The amount of pale skin exposed left Laurent uncomfortable. He took a deep breath and left the change room.

Damen’s eyes went wide on sight.

“Remember I did not laugh at you,” Laurent warned.

“I am not laughing,” Damen said. “You look-”

“Pale?” Laurent questioned.

“That too,” Damen agreed. “But I was going to say breathtaking.”

Laurent found himself uncharacteristically lost for words. He was not certain how to accept that kind of attention gracefully and he could not put up his defensive walls and snap at Damen or have him leave while they were on camera in the middle of a date.

“How about we find out what the next surprise is?” Damen asked and Laurent was relieved to be let off of the hook.

* * *

The second half of their date was just as clearly designed to produce drama.

They were at an escape room together. Clearly, the Regent thought that locking them in a room together would make the tension bubble over and they would lose the civility. The Regent wanted them to fight so that Laurent would not allow Damen to win and to create tension in both countries. If they did let the pressure and being locked in a room together get to them and cracked, Laurent had no doubt his uncle and Damen’s brother would ensure that neither of them were able to become king after that.

What the Regent didn’t realize though was that they had been growing more used to being in rooms alone together with Damen’s late night visits. Laurent no longer felt his blood boil just at Damen’s presence. On top of that, they had developed a trust and ability to work together that would suit them well in the escape room.

It was surprising to Laurent to realize that the idea of an hour stuck alone in a room with Damen was no longer unbearable. He would far rather spend his time on this date than repeat the one with Aimeric.

Laurent knew his own intelligence and he was certain that Damen’s cleverness would be an asset as well. He was grateful for a chance to disappoint his uncle and outsmart him, even if he did not intend to keep Damen after this week anyway. He was also somewhat glad to be locked in a room with just Damen to get out of the public so that he would not have to endure anymore looks for his Akielon dress.

“Are you going to stand there staring at me while I get us out of here all on my own?” Laurent challenged when their hour began ticking down. “Or are you going to help?”

Laurent did not think that any of the clues to get out of the room were written on the bare flesh of his chest, but Damen seemed to be searching there anyway.

“I will take this side of the room,” Damen said as he tore his eyes from Laurent. “You take that side. See what you can find and we will discuss it after.”

Laurent nodded his head then began to search his own side of the room. He figured that Damen’s strategy would be more efficient than both searching the entire room. Perhaps, if Laurent was with Aimeric, he would not trust him to find all the clues on the other side of the room and communicate them properly, but with Damen he could worry about his half only.

They had been told before entering that it was the most difficult escape room that the company had. They managed to get out with more than half of their time left and broke the world record. Even though Damen was going home this week, Laurent thought that showed their intelligence and how well they could work together in future political alliances.

Laurent’s grin was genuine when they made it out with so much time to spare. He was picturing the look on his uncle’s face when he found out how poorly his plan had gone, right up until Damen moved into his personal space and stroked Laurent’s cheek with his thumb.

Damen hesitated as if he was waiting to see if Laurent would try to shift their interaction to something else, but Laurent was too pleased with their teamwork to think to pull away or reject him. Damen waited a moment longer and then kissed Laurent and something in Laurent’s chest stirred.

He was used to his heart hammering from anger or nerves that he would let his rage make a fool of him when he was around Damen. That had stopped somewhere in the past weeks and he wasn’t sure when. His heart was racing for a whole other reason now and Laurent did not care for it in the context.

Damen was going home and that was a good thing. This kiss was for the camera and Laurent supposed maybe it could be for his own benefit too. It was a little easier to accept the fact that he enjoyed kissing Damen when he knew that Damen would not be around long enough for Laurent to let whatever his attraction to Damen was make a fool of him.

* * *

The night before the rose ceremony, Damen returned to Laurent’s room.

“Are you here to use my phone or are you here with information?” Laurent asked.

“Neither,” Damen said. “I just wanted to be here.”

“Is sharing quarters with Jord and Aimeric so unbearable?” Laurent asked.

“It would not be my first choice,” Damen said. “But I would rather be with you.”

“You will not be for long,” Laurent reminded him.

“I know,” Damen said. “Soon I will be back to phony appearances of my own and walking on eggshells around my own family, trying to stop a war alone.”

“You will not be alone. Certainly, you have someone you trust back in Akielos. Like Nikandros. And you will also have my support when I become king,” Laurent told him. “I meant what I said about working together moving forward. Our interests do not only align during the course of this show.”

“And you will have my support,” Damen said. “I will be in your corner once you are king and before that, if your uncle tries to have you removed from the royal line.”

Damen was moving closer again and it was more dangerous for Laurent to allow him to kiss him again, this time away from the camera. At the same time, none of it really mattered. Come the same time the next night, Damen would be on his way back to Akielos and whatever was between them would be over and wouldn’t matter anyway. This was too close to over for it to be a real risk anymore, so Laurent leaned in and allowed Damen to kiss him goodbye.

The cocktail party was unpleasant. Laurent wished he could just get the rose ceremony over with. He was not enjoying dragging it out. He did not want to listen to Aimeric. He did not want to make small talk. He did not want to drag out the inevitable of sending Damen home.

He still had to have an on-camera conversation to try to smooth things over for when he would send Damen home though and he was dreading it as Damen pulled him aside.

“I have been thinking,” Laurent said. “About what comes after this show and what is in the best interest for both of our countries.”

“As have I,” Damen told him.

“We have to be realistic about the situation,” Laurent pointed out. “We will each have our own countries to look after some day. If we choose each other, I will not be able to move to Akielos and abandon Vere and I am not foolish enough to expect that you would be able to leave Akielos behind and move here.”

“I have been worrying about the same thing,” Damen said. “I am sure that you will be a good leader to your country as I hope to be to mine. I know that we work well together, but I am not certain how that would translate to a relationship beyond a political alliance outside of this show.”

* * *

When Laurent and Damen went back inside after their conversation, Aimeric slid over on the couch to leave space between him and Jord where there had not been before.

Jord’s eyes were on Laurent and Aimeric’s look of innocence looked falser than usual.

Laurent did not know or particularly care if Jord was interested in Aimeric, although he knew that Jord would not be foolish enough to allow an interest in Aimeric to destroy his loyalty. Aimeric was a snake trying to manipulate Jord, just as Damen had predicted and it didn’t even matter.

* * *

When it came time for the rose ceremony, Laurent was more than ready to get this over with. None of the three men had roses yet and Laurent only had two to give out.

“Jord,” Laurent said as he lifted the first flower. “Would you accept this rose.”

“I am happy to,” Jord said as Laurent pinned the rose to his lapel.

Laurent lifted the second rose and glanced up at Damen and Aimeric.

Damen already knew what would happen. They had already said their goodbyes off camera. There was no reason for Laurent to be hesitating and yet he had lost all ability to move, let alone speak.

Laurent knew why it had to be Aimeric. It would be easy to get rid of Aimeric in the final two. It would be a disaster to take Damen to the last week. No matter what happened, at least one of their countries would be upset. Veretians would find it an insult if Damen did not propose. Akielons would be insulted if Laurent did not accept his proposal or cut him off when he was about to propose.

Time had run out and this was what they had agreed upon. Laurent was always supposed to get rid of Damen near the end but before final two.

He was supposed to say Aimeric’s name and rid himself of Damen.

Damen would go back to Akielos. They would both be done with this horrible act. They would not both have to walk on eggshells in front of the camera, trying not to start a war with their interactions.

Laurent did not know why he was hesitating. He should have said Aimeric’s name by now.

Why was he not saying Aimeric’s name?

Laurent had slipped and let the act get to him. The bond between he and Damen was not utterly fake anymore, even if it was not what they claimed it to be in front of the cameras. But this was stupid. Trusting Damen as a political ally did not mean that he should trust him romantically.

Besides, they had a plan. They had not discussed anything but sending Aimeric home. They had both agreed it was for the best. There had been no discussion about how the hell the next week would work because there was never supposed to be a next week and there still shouldn’t have been.

Laurent could not marry Damen. Could he? No. Of course not and he certainly could not assume that Damen would marry him, even if he let himself suggest the idea.

Even knowing that, somehow the extra week with Damen there and Aimeric gone still tempted Laurent.

He was well aware that there were eyes on him and he had gone well past the point of a suspenseful pause straight into ‘What are you doing just staring at the rose? Say something!’ territory.

Laurent wished that he could ask Auguste what to do. Auguste had always known better than Laurent. He wished that he could imagine what Auguste would tell him, but he couldn’t. Auguste was not there and he did not know what he would say.

Auguste would want him alive. Auguste would also want him to follow his heart if it was anyone else but Damen involved. But this was Damen and Laurent still did not know what Auguste’s past with Damen had been. Laurent had no way of knowing if Auguste would warn him away or urge him to take a risk.

Laurent could never ask him now. He had to make this decision on his own. Laurent was really starting to hate being on his own and trusting no one.

It was so nice having Jord as a friend he could trust. It had also been so nice having Damen on the same side of things as him and knowing that he could trust him and Jord both. Laurent had not been facing everything alone for weeks and he did not want to go back to shutting himself up in his room and shutting the world out. He did not want to avoid everyone and everything.

He knew that he _couldn’t_ let himself become a more trusting person because that had a rather legitimate risk of getting him killed, but he could take a risk and not send one of the only people in the world who he trusted back to a different country.

“Damen,” Laurent said and even he was surprised as the name left his lips.

Jord was staring at him with undisguised disbelief. His thoughts could not have been more clear if he had verbally asked _what the hell are you doing?_

Aimeric looked confused by the fact that his name had been not been called. His furrowed brow was the only part of him that had moved since Laurent called Damen’s name.

Damen walked over to Laurent, but his movements were slightly hesitant. He seemed unsure of why this was happening but he went along with it anyway because he trusted Laurent and probably thought he had a plan that he did not.

“Will you accept this rose?” Laurent asked.

His fingers were shaking slightly as they held the rose and Laurent cursed his own nerves.

For the first time, Laurent was actually something with that question. He felt utterly bare and vulnerable standing there as he waited for a response.

Damen really could say no this time. This was going to end poorly anyway now. Laurent had ruined their shot at ending this in a mutually beneficial way that left neither country upset.

“You know I will accept any rose that you will give me,” Damen answered.


	5. Chapter 5

Laurent was unsurprised when Jord showed up at his room shortly after he had arrived back there himself.

“What the hell was that?” Jord questioned. “You said you were keeping Aimeric.”

“Aimeric was making a move on you,” Laurent pointed out.

“So what?” Jord asked. “You didn’t walk in on any definitive evidence that you couldn’t ignore at the rose ceremony. You said you were getting rid of Damen.”

“I was,” Laurent said. “But I changed my mind.”

“That was a stupid decision and we both know it,” Jord pointed out. “You can’t marry him and any possible way for you two to end things is going to make at least one country angry. You are blinded by him and it is making you weak. You’re falling for him and for all you know he’s telling you what you want to hear and playing you on your uncle’s behalf.”

“Remember I am still your prince when you speak to me like that,” Laurent warned. “I am not weak or blinded and I am  _ not  _ falling for him.”

The door opened when Laurent was halfway through his retort and he knew that Damen had caught the end of it.

Jord glanced over and looked unimpressed but unsurprised that Damen was there.

“So now he just lets himself in?” Jord questioned.

“I know what I am doing,” Laurent warned, although he was in no way certain that he did. “It is time for you to leave. We will talk about this more when you have a clear head.”

“And hopefully you will too,” Jord retorted before he brushed past Damen on his way out of the room.

Damen barely waited for the door to close before he turned his attention on Laurent and told him, “I do not believe you. You had a plan and you abandoned it so that we could have more time together.”

“You’re wrong,” Laurent insisted.

“If I’m wrong, then tell me how this plan is better,” Damen challenged. “What is your calculated move here?”

Laurent wished that he had one to throw in Damen’s face, but he did not.

“That’s what I thought,” Damen said when Laurent remained silent.

“Look smug all you want, but we still have to sort out what the hell we are going to do now,” Laurent insisted.

* * *

For the final dates, Laurent would spend one day with each of the remaining contestants. If he and the contestant chose, the day could extend into the night and the next morning in a fantasy suite away from the cameras.

Jord’s day came first. Laurent spent the majority of it distracted by the decision he had ahead of him. He had planned on marrying Jord because he was the only one he could trust, but now Laurent was not entirely certain that was true anymore. He wasn’t certain if the risk was greater to end things with Damen or marry him. He wasn’t certain Damen even would agree to marry him if he chose him.

In theory, it would be easier to get engaged to Damen than it would be to end things on television, but that would not make things easier after the show. Laurent still did not know if he could trust Damen romantically and not just politically and, even if he could, that did not solve the dilemma that each had their own country to worry about and could not drop everything to live with the other.

Laurent still did not know who he was going to pick when it came time for he and Jord to decide whether they wanted to go to the fantasy suite together or not. Laurent was not certain who he needed to keep appearances up with before the proposal.

“What do you think?” Jord asked because he would not dare to suggest the fantasy suite to Laurent without some hint that Laurent would be open to the idea. Laurent knew that his frigid reputation made his answer hold more weight to his audience in both countries.

“I think we should go,” Laurent said.

He needed to talk through strategy anyway and he did not think it would hurt to go to the fantasy suite with Jord to keep appearances up if he stuck to the plan to marry him.

* * *

Jord seemed underwhelmed when the moment they were in the fantasy suite with cameras off of him, Laurent jumped right into strategizing.

“It was easy to figure out my uncle’s plan while he still had men on his payroll in the competition,” Laurent pointed out. “But now, either way, I am going against his plans and there is no way that he will just roll over instead of forming a new one.”

“There’s no way to know his plan yet,” Jord pointed out. “And we still need to talk about what you are going to do at the end of this now.”

“I don’t know,” Laurent admitted.

“You don’t know?” Jord repeated in a tone of disbelief. “You’ve just thrown out your whole plan and now you don’t know?”

“Terms are different now and I have to figure out which choice is smartest,” Laurent said.

“You figured that out already when you decided to marry me as a business transaction,” Jord pointed out. “I did not think it was possible for a man to cloud your vision, but that is exactly what he is doing.”

“Marrying you will help me keep in the royal line,” Laurent said. “But if things are done properly, so would marrying him.”

“You can’t possibly be considering marrying him,” Jord insisted. “He’s an Akielon and a bastard.”

“Actually,” Laurent corrected. “His brother is the bastard.”

“You know what I mean,” Jord argued. “You can’t trust him. You can trust me. You want to look at this as just a business deal and a bet on your life and the life of your country? I am the obvious choice. Damen will use you to further Akielos’s agenda and the Regent will use you marrying an Akielon prince as a sign of weakness and disloyalty to Vere.”

“Just as he would portray my marrying you as neglecting our fragile relationship with Akielos,” Laurent countered coldly.

Jord frowned and went silent for a moment because he knew that Laurent was right.

Laurent did not give him the chance to think of another argument before he insisted, “I am going to bed.”

It was not particularly late, but Laurent had had enough of the conversation. He trusted Jord and understood his points, but he did not care to discuss what he hardly understood himself. Jord was backing up arguments that had been running through Laurent’s head all day and he was not certain he liked it.

“Here,” Laurent said as he grabbed a pillow off the bed and tossed it at Jord. “You can take the floor.”

* * *

Damen’s date was all incredibly dry. They could not talk real strategy in front of the cameras since they could not openly discuss Kastor and the Regent’s plans and they could not make a decision while neglecting to discuss important factors.

Laurent found himself more hesitant than he had been the last date. Last time, nothing he had said or done had really mattered beyond keeping both their countries sated because Damen would go home and he would marry another anyway. Now, the uncertainty had Laurent unsure around Damen again. He spent all day over-analyzing his every word and if he could trust him which was a difficult task when they were both acting for the cameras around him.

When it came time to decide whether they would go to the fantasy suite or not, Laurent still did not know what he was going to do but he did know that he needed a solid block of time alone with Damen without the cameras to help figure that out.

* * *

“What happened with Jord in here the other night?” Damen asked mere moments after the door had closed.

Of course, Damen had known that Jord had not come back to the quarters they shared.

“That is no concern of yours,” Laurent told him. His words felt colder than usual on the way out. “I am not your property and it is not your right to care who I let bed me.”

“You’re right,” Damen said. “I know you being with another is a very distinct possibility and I know that I have no right to be bothered by it, but you have been so cold today and I cannot help but wonder if it is because you care for another more than me after all.”

Laurent let out a sigh and his shoulders relaxed. He hadn’t realized how tensed they had been all day.

“I do not mean to be cold,” he admitted. “Things are just complicated.”

“So let me help you figure them out,” Damen said. “We are better when we talk through decisions together.”

“I don’t want to talk right now,” Laurent admitted and he was surprised by the realization.

Damen raised an eyebrow at him, “Do you mean-”

“Yes,” Laurent said. He wished his voice had not wavered when he said it, but he supposed at least there were no cameras around to capture it.

“Are you certain?”

The question surprised Laurent and boosted his confidence in his decision a little.

He did not know what he was going to do, but it did not matter at that moment anyway. He did know that he wanted to act on his attraction to Damen while he still could.

He had to marry someone he did not love or someone he did not trust. It was better to test Damen and see what would come of it.

If he chose to marry Damen and Damen was the same in the morning, it would be evidence that maybe Damen really was serious about being the changed man he claimed to be and not just trying to get into his pants.

If he was wrong to trust Damen and he slept with him only for Damen to become completely different in the morning, he would know that Jord was right and he would find a way to send Damen home.

If he chose to marry Jord, regardless of how the morning went, at least he would be more certain and he would have had the chance to have one night with Damen before he would be stuck in a sexless marriage with Jord.

* * *

After, when they were lying in bed together with their naked limbs intertwined, Laurent admitted, “Nothing happened with Jord. We talked about possible scenarios and he slept on the floor.”

Damen’s face broke out into a relieved smile and part of Laurent resented the fact that Damen’s relief meant something and his smile made Laurent’s heart flutter.

Laurent had not expected to want Damen to be telling the truth about looking for a husband to stand at his side and not just someone else to have casual sex with until he became bored.

Laurent had not expected to want to marry Damen instead of Jord so much. He had not expected to want so much in general, but he was only in deeper now.

Damen had proven a generous and caring lover. He had used his experience in Laurent’s favour and he did not laugh when Laurent fumbled a little from lack of experience. Laurent was surprised to find that he did not want to leave the room and return to the cameras. He did not want to strategize either. He just wanted to remain in bed with Damen.

“Are you going to propose to me?” Laurent asked as Damen traced the lines of Laurent’s bare shoulder.

Damen moved closer to press his lips to the flesh where his fingers had been just seconds before then leaned back again to meet Laurent’s eyes again.

“Do you want me to?” Damen asked. “Just say the word and I will propose to you here and now without the cameras to worry about.” 

Laurent considered. “I do not know.”

“Do not tell me that you don’t want to do more of that,” Damen challenged.

“No,” Laurent said. “I want to, It’s just, this is about more than just you and me. This is about our countries. I cannot move to Akielos and allow my uncle to seize control here. You cannot move to Vere and allow your brother to take control of Akielos. We can hardly plan a royal wedding and stay together from separate countries.”

“Before the wedding, I think we should do a tour of each of our countries to spread the good news and cheer,” Damen suggested and Laurent did not miss the way he spoke as if he had already proposed and Laurent had already accepted. “It will gain us support in each of our countries and show that no one country is more important than the other. While we are on this tour we can tell them of our plan for our living situation after the wedding.”

Laurent let himself slip into Damen’s scenario without arguing against the circumstances, playing along to see if any of this would work. “We would have to choose a country to have the wedding in and neither would be thrilled to be neglected.”

“We could stay in Akielos to plan the wedding and have it there since the show all took place in Vere. Maybe somewhere close to the border with citizens of each of our countries invited to the festivities,” Damen said. “And then honeymoon in Vere.”

“We could not stay in either country for very long,” Laurent pointed out. “It would give my uncle and your brother too much time to scheme to undermine us without us there. We would have to switch castles often. I doubt we could stay in either for more than three months.”

“We can cement the peace between Akielos and Vere and set an example of thriving together instead of fighting each other,” Damen pointed out. “Soon, I will be king and in a couple years so will you. We will be stronger ruling our countries together.”

“Our countries?” Laurent questioned because he couldn’t let the way Damen had slipped it in as if Laurent already owned a part of Akielos and Damen already owned a part of Vere go unnoticed.

“They could be.”

* * *

Laurent felt more content than he had in a long time when he woke up the next morning with his head on Damen’s chest and Damen’s arm draped around him. He repositioned himself to try to see if Damen was awake and the other man stirred.

“Good morning,” Damen said with a lazy smile. He moved so that his hand was splayed across Laurent’s back and then he slowly glided his fingers lower. “We still have time before we have to be out of here and back in front of the cameras.”

Laurent shifted on top of Damen and stopped with his lips almost to Damen’s as he asked, “Do you still intend to propose to me tomorrow?”

“If you wish to bring the cameras in, I will propose to you right now,” Damen insisted.

“That would go over well, I’m sure,” Laurent said. “I’m sure both of our countries would love to see their princes proposing in the heat of a lustful moment.”

“Is that all you think this is?” Damen challenged.

“No,” Laurent admitted. “But it would not translate well with me on top of you and both of us naked.”

“Then I suppose I will have to wait until tomorrow after all,” Damen told him. “I do have a few ideas for how we can kill more time without the cameras in the meantime though.”

Laurent closed the distance between them with a passionate kiss. “So do I.”

* * *

Laurent did not see Damen or Jord again after leaving the fantasy suite until it came time for the proposal. He supposed they must have been better guarded. He knew that his room certainly had been.

Not having either come to his room to discuss had left Laurent a lot of time to think on his own, but he had not changed his mind. He had only become more certain in what he had to do and he knew that Jord would come around to his decision eventually when he realized that Damen was not working for his uncle and was not going to have Laurent removed from the royal line or break his heart.

Laurent wondered who they would send first as he stood and waited in front of the castle. Part of him hoped that it would be Damen since he found himself missing him more than he had expected while he had been locked up in his room with nothing but time to think. It was surprising that a full day and night alone in his room had dragged on so much when locking himself away from the world had been his specialty before all this.

Damen was not the first to appear and perhaps that was for the best. Laurent did not really care to follow his engagement up by immediately having Damen leave so that he could reject Jord.

Jord stopped and did not say anything. He studied Laurent’s face as if he was already wondering whether he should go along with the original plan and start proposing or if Laurent had finally made up his mind under the influence of his feelings toward Damen.

“Before you say anything,” Laurent said. “I want you to know that I have made up my mind to follow my heart.”

Jord waited to make sure which way this was going.

“I cannot marry you,” Laurent told him. “Because my heart belongs to another.”

Laurent knew that Jord could not react how he really wished to in front of the cameras. He was certain that Jord was still as uncertain of Damen as he had been before, but that was okay because Laurent was certain about Damen now and that was what mattered. There would be time for Jord to learn to trust Damen as he got to know him better later.

“I understand,” Jord said, maybe because he had figured out Laurent’s feelings while he had still been denying them or maybe just because he could not voice all of his concerns about Damen on television without upsetting Akielons and giving Veretians reasons to mistrust Damen.

“I hope that you will still feel comfortable as a member of my guard,” Laurent said truthfully. “You are the best guard I have and a friend as well.”

“Of course,” Jord said and Laurent thought he was disappointed but really meant it.

* * *

A few minutes after Jord left, Damen appeared. Laurent’s heart began racing at the sight of him which was ridiculous when he already knew exactly what was going to happen.

Damen smiled as he walked up to him and he snuck a kiss before he began his speech.

“I came onto this show hoping to find a prince who could stand beside me and I did,” Damen said. “But I did not expect for you to be so much more. You are so much more clever and beautiful than I ever could have imagined and I am lucky that you have given me a chance. I came here hoping to settle down with someone I could get along with and who would be a good choice for my country. I did not expect that we would work so well together and see eye to eye so easily and I did not expect to fall in love with you. Together, I believe that we can be truly incredible both as kings and as husbands.”

Damen reached into his pocket and bent down onto one knee as he popped open a ring box and held it out. There was something almost humorous about the future king of Akielos kneeling before him for all of Akielos and Vere to see, although Laurent supposed they had each done some kneeling in the privacy of the fantasy suite the night before.

“Would you do me the honour of marrying me, Prince Laurent?”

“You were serious?” Laurent asked. “About everything that we discussed in the fantasy suite?”

“Yes,” Damen said and Laurent was surprised by how easily the word reassured him.

“Then absolutely yes.”

“This ring was my father’s,” Damen said as he placed it on Laurent’s finger. “He gave it to me before I left for this show. It is yours now.”

Damen rose again once the ring was on Laurent’s finger and Laurent pulled him in for a kiss.

Laurent was certain that they would still have his uncle and Kastor to deal with, but he and Damen were a united front and stronger together. He was certain that they could deal with whatever came their way together.

Besides, everyone loved a royal wedding and theirs was sure to gain support for them both.


End file.
